"Westernization" movement in V-League: Coming to an end!

1. Currently, the audience will not be surprised if in a V-League match, more than half of the players on the field are foreign players or naturalized foreign players. With the current regulations, teams like Thanh Hoa can play with 8 foreign players (5 naturalized foreign players); QNK Quang Nam, B. Binh Duong, HN T&T, SHB DN, if they use up all their "priority" rights, the number of foreign players will also be up to 5-6 players/match. If they want, in the match between Thanh Hoa and B.Binh Duong, the coaches of the two teams can completely put 13-14 foreign players on the field. It is not too much to say that, at present, V-League teams are living on the breath of foreign players, it is very rare for teams to play with a "Western" squad like SLNA. Most V.League teams reserve, vital positions such as center back, central midfielder, and striker are "assigned" to... "foreigners".

The question is why is Vietnamese professional football being "westernized"? Is it because Vietnam's youth training is poor, or because this is a professional league, so there must be many players from other places? Do foreign players help improve the quality of V.League? The answer is yes! At the time of the first foreign players, there were matches where fans came to the stadium just to see the "Sac" and "Sit" (Thai players Kiatisak and Dusit) in Hoang Anh Gia Lai's colors. But after the initial excitement and curiosity, foreign players are no longer the catalyst that attracts spectators to the stadium like before. It has been nearly 15 years since the first foreign players appeared on the Vietnamese football field in the colors of Hai Phong Police and Song Lam Nghe An. The argument that "we need foreign players to improve the quality of V.League and increase the exposure of domestic players, thereby improving the quality of the national team" probably needs to be seriously reconsidered. In a context where foreign players do not help V.League become as shiny as it once was, nor help the national teams to improve, is it time for Vietnamese football to learn from Malaysian football about 2, 3 years ago: temporarily close the policy of using foreign players?

2. On the morning of July 22, the VFF Professional Football Board discussed and agreed to approve many new contents from the 2015 to 2018 season. At the meeting, the Professional Football Board discussed and agreed on 3 main contents, including the proposal of the number of teams participating in the 2015 First Division, the proposal of planning the number of teams participating in the V-League and First Division from 2015 to 2018, and the proposal of planning the number of foreign players from the 2015 to 2018 season. Specifically, according to the proposal of the Professional Football Board, in the V-League, the number of "foreign players" registered is 3, using 2 on the field in the 2015 season (the 2014 season was 3 registered, 3 played). From the 2016 to 2018 season, the number of foreign players registered by each club was reduced to 2 and 2 players on the field. In the 2015 season, teams were allowed to use 2 naturalized players, but from 2016 to 2018, the number of players not trained in Vietnam was reduced to only 1. In addition, the Professional Football Board agreed with the view that the First Division will not have "foreign players" from the 2015 to 2018 season and clubs are only allowed to use one naturalized player. Particularly for teams playing in the AFC Cup or AFC Champions League, VFF allows teams to register 3 foreign players and one foreign player of Asian origin. This regulation is to increase competitiveness, helping Vietnamese teams quickly reach the continental level. To avoid injustice, when First Division and V-League teams meet in the National Cup or V-League play-off, V-League teams will not be allowed to use foreign players. If there are no sudden changes, the Draft for Vietnam Football Development of the Professional Football Board, which was just presented at the VFF annual meeting, will be approved in mid-August 2014, and will take effect from next season. Thus, this is a draft law that is expected to significantly change the face of Vietnamese football. Domestic players will be able to play more, and the national team will have the opportunity to regain its strength.

Great Justice